- CENTREVILLE -
Février 2015 - Novembre 2015
@ Concordia's ArtED Symposium Pop-Up Art Hive/Maker's Space &
@ La Ruche D'art St-James Emerging Art Hive
@ La Ruche du Y des Femmes de Montréal / YWCA Art Hive
History of the Neighbourhood
Morgan's Store, St. Catherine Street, about 1900
© McCord Museum, © Héritage Montréal |
For this project, Centreville is defined as the dense urban space located in the borough of Ville Marie between Avenue du Parc and Atwater, and between the Ville-Marie expressway and Avenue des Pins.
What we know now as the concrete-jungle urban-grid of Centreville or downtown Montreal used to be covered in woodlands and meadow. The land was fertile and the area was protected from strong winds and faced the sun, making it an idea place for many nations of the Iroquois confederacy to gather for centuries. Jaques Cartier came to the land now known as Montreal in 1535, entering the Laurentien-Iroquois village of Hochelaga in search for a passage to Asia. He wrote about these people in his journals and documented some of their distinct language. |
European colonization has deeply marked and altered this place in obvious ways. The downtown area has literally paved over the foundations of the Indigenous settlements, violently erasing this history. Archeological digs are beginning to unveil the darker history that lies under the foundations of Montréal.
Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1832. At the time, the modern downtown was occupied by cemeteries and inhabited by the bourgeois. It was known as a "New Town" for the wealthy. Anglophone immigrants began building churches, wealthy merchants built country homes, and a grid-pattern of urban planning was established. In the mid 1800s the cemeteries were moved to the peak of Mont Royal in the interest of public health. The first Tram ran down Ste Catherine street in 1865.
By the 1990s, many luxury stores began to move from Old Port to the downtown area to be more accessible to wealthy clients, and in turn, luxury apartments and hotels were build to accommodate wealthy folk who craved convenience. Then, the economic crash of 1929 hit Montreal hard, and trade began to move to Toronto.
Around the 1950s, companies began to "rebuild" the downtown, constructing "skyscrapers" higher than 10 stories (to this day, towers cannot legally be built taller than the Mont Royal), and the metro opened in 1966 to facilitate commuters. The construction of Place Ville Marie was paired with the development of downtowns underground city connecting the buildings of downtown with sub-terrain pedestrian walkways.
These days, Montreal's downtown is a mix of the city's most prominent and privileged and the folks on the fringes. During the day, the hustle and bustle of working-folks and students fills the city centre with a buzz. In the evenings, the neighbourhood quiets out, and we can see who really inhabits the space.
Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1832. At the time, the modern downtown was occupied by cemeteries and inhabited by the bourgeois. It was known as a "New Town" for the wealthy. Anglophone immigrants began building churches, wealthy merchants built country homes, and a grid-pattern of urban planning was established. In the mid 1800s the cemeteries were moved to the peak of Mont Royal in the interest of public health. The first Tram ran down Ste Catherine street in 1865.
By the 1990s, many luxury stores began to move from Old Port to the downtown area to be more accessible to wealthy clients, and in turn, luxury apartments and hotels were build to accommodate wealthy folk who craved convenience. Then, the economic crash of 1929 hit Montreal hard, and trade began to move to Toronto.
Around the 1950s, companies began to "rebuild" the downtown, constructing "skyscrapers" higher than 10 stories (to this day, towers cannot legally be built taller than the Mont Royal), and the metro opened in 1966 to facilitate commuters. The construction of Place Ville Marie was paired with the development of downtowns underground city connecting the buildings of downtown with sub-terrain pedestrian walkways.
These days, Montreal's downtown is a mix of the city's most prominent and privileged and the folks on the fringes. During the day, the hustle and bustle of working-folks and students fills the city centre with a buzz. In the evenings, the neighbourhood quiets out, and we can see who really inhabits the space.
Pop-Up Maker's Spaces, St-James Art Hive & The YWCA Art Hive
Downtowns are inevitably transient spaces, full of people coming and going, and sometimes they spend a moment being still in between.
Employees come to work, students come to study, some folks come to live, but often not for long... shoppers come to shop, art-appreciators come to appreciate art... citizens come to rally, citizens come to protest, citizens come to hold vigils ... cyclist pass through, metro-riders pass under... So it makes sense that the pieces of this quilt have been created in a variety of pop-up maker's spaces around the downtown, as well as in the Art Hives at St-James and the YWCA. This quilt began in February 2015 at a Pop-Up Maker's Space/Art Hive during the ArtED Symposium "The Art of Inclusion". It was a speed-dating-like whirl of story-telling, colour, paint, and glue as symposium participants passed through the Pop-Up Art Hive over their lunch break. After roughly 4 hours, almost half of the quilt pieces (15 or so) were done! Most of the participants that day were Concordia alumni who now lived in various boroughs and suburbs or Montreal and didn't frequent the area often anymore. Their pieces reflect memories. Other participants were students and/or employees at the university. Their pieces reflect the joy of their work and the frustrations of their workload and the time they waste everyday trying to find parking. Other participants were visitors to the city. Their pieces mark first impressions. One of the pieces made that day was created in collaboration with Judith Snow, who was the keynote speaker of the symposium. Judith was an amazing soul and her work has changed lives, especially in terms of supporting and creating a more accessible world for those living with disabilities. She passed on in May, 2015, and so I would like to take a minute to pay tribute to her and her amazing life's work. I'm blessed to have been able to meet her at the Maker's Space and for her to contribute an impression of Montréal to this quilt. |
After the symposium, the Quilted/Quartier Centreville was hosted by the St-James Emerging Art Hive, a young art hive based in a multipurpose space of the historic St-James anglican church on St-Catherine near Mackay. This art hive became a space where crafty members of the church came together with Concordia students and other folks passing through downtown, including some participants of Montreal's first Derby de Toboggans d'Art/Art Sled Derby that collaborated with the art hive to prepare giant art toboggans throughout the month of January, 20015.
For many, the Quilted/Quartier Centreville became an introduction to the idea of community art and crafty collaboration. Most of the participants who decorated pieces have never met one another, although perhaps their paths have crossed without knowing. They just happened to come through the same space, and different times, to talk about their experiences of downtown and decorate a piece.
The Art Hive at St-James Emerging became a space of intersection, between the church community, Concordia students, participants of the drop in centre downstairs, and folks from a variety of different countries and faith backgrounds. As such, the conversations at this Art Hive are always ripe for reflection after open studio hours finish.
Another downtown Art Hive opened up over the summer at the YWCA. I met two of the facilitators of this space at the Art Hive Institute, a course taught over the summer to help folks learn the bases of how to get an Art Hive started in their communities. I was invited to bring the Quilted/Quartier to their Art Hive, and luckily there were a couple of pieces left of this quilt. We hosted a pop-up *quilt day* in their drop-in area and finished the last pieces of the quilt in November.
In comparison to the other quilts in this series, I find that the pieces of this quilt reflect less of the specific space (maker's space, art hive, atelier, cooperative) wherein they were created, and more of the individuals direct relationship with the downtown area itself. Almost every piece reflects a very distinct individual experience and story. They represent ephemeral interactions, brief moments in time, geographical landmarks that are held in a memory but can no longer be found on a paper map.
Stories that were shared included those of life in a student-bubble looking forward to graduation, nostalgic reflections from folks who had spent a lot of time downtown during their studies and no longer frequent the area, memories of first impressions of the city just after immigrating to the city, and snap-shots of passing through.
Take a look:
For many, the Quilted/Quartier Centreville became an introduction to the idea of community art and crafty collaboration. Most of the participants who decorated pieces have never met one another, although perhaps their paths have crossed without knowing. They just happened to come through the same space, and different times, to talk about their experiences of downtown and decorate a piece.
The Art Hive at St-James Emerging became a space of intersection, between the church community, Concordia students, participants of the drop in centre downstairs, and folks from a variety of different countries and faith backgrounds. As such, the conversations at this Art Hive are always ripe for reflection after open studio hours finish.
Another downtown Art Hive opened up over the summer at the YWCA. I met two of the facilitators of this space at the Art Hive Institute, a course taught over the summer to help folks learn the bases of how to get an Art Hive started in their communities. I was invited to bring the Quilted/Quartier to their Art Hive, and luckily there were a couple of pieces left of this quilt. We hosted a pop-up *quilt day* in their drop-in area and finished the last pieces of the quilt in November.
In comparison to the other quilts in this series, I find that the pieces of this quilt reflect less of the specific space (maker's space, art hive, atelier, cooperative) wherein they were created, and more of the individuals direct relationship with the downtown area itself. Almost every piece reflects a very distinct individual experience and story. They represent ephemeral interactions, brief moments in time, geographical landmarks that are held in a memory but can no longer be found on a paper map.
Stories that were shared included those of life in a student-bubble looking forward to graduation, nostalgic reflections from folks who had spent a lot of time downtown during their studies and no longer frequent the area, memories of first impressions of the city just after immigrating to the city, and snap-shots of passing through.
Take a look: